Fall Camp

Alley not resting in effort to earn playing time

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Bryce Alley is trying to prove the notion that there’s no rest of the weary.

The Montana State cornerback played sparingly as a freshman. Since the turn of the calendar to 2015, it seems he’s never come out of the lineup.

During spring drills, Montana State had just senior Bryson Keeton, senior Trace Timmer, sophomore Jaylen Price and Alley in its cornerbacks group. Keeton and Timmer missed time because of injury and Price has since left the team. Since mid-March, Alley has gotten the most practice repetitions of any MSU corner on the team and it’s not close.

Alley has had his ups and downs. He’s squared off with all of Montana State’s top receivers for the last nine months. He’s made plays on the football consistently but he’s also lacked physicality at times. But the amount of experience he’s gained leading up to next season should prove to be invaluable.

Bryce Alley

Bryce Alley

“Like anything, with more reps comes more confidence,” MSU first-year cornerbacks coach Michael Rider said. “He’s put so much on tape to coach. He’s done an awesome job. His feet, I’m really pleased with those. We are just working on some physicality things that he has in him. He’ll just have to continue to finish plays.”

Alley’s progression and his chance to progress is a byproduct of his durability. He’s taken the lion’s share of the repetitions since the new year simply because he’s never missed a practice. It’s something that was instilled in him as a young age at North Shore High, one of the inner-city powerhouses of Houston.

“No days off back home man, no days off,” Alley said. “As soon as we lost in the playoffs, it was back at it the next week, getting ready for winter workouts. There was no days off, ever. It was so hot back home, running all those 110s in the summer. I kind of tried to carry that over here to Montana. Competition is always getting better. I feel like there’s always someone working harder than me so I can’t quit. I have to stay on my grind, man.”

Despite the collection of reps Alley has received this year, he still finds himself in a battle for a starting spot with Timmer opposite Keeton. Alley has piled up practice reps, but he’s only played sparingly in games. Timmer’s impressive athleticism and newfound health have led to a building camp. Yet Alley’s learning curve and skill acceleration have been steep, too. He continues to fight for a starting job on Montana State’s revamped defense.

“I’m just trying to get better, keep building, keep building, keep building,” Alley said. “Saturday at the scrimmage, I feel like it wasn’t that good, but I went back and watched film and it was actually better than I thought it was. I have to keep building. It’s fierce out here. Trace don’t let up. Trace make sure I have no days off. It’s a battle.”

A season ago, Keeton played across from first-team All-Big Sky senior Deonte Flowers. Alley was the third option, MSU lacked any cornerback depth, so Alley burned his redshirt despite playing sparingly in the seven games he appeared in, including almost not at all during conference play. Now Alley is trying to become a starter for a defense trying to resurrect its reputation.

“I like the way he’s battling,” Ash said. “He’s playing more aggressive than he did in the spring. I felt like he was a little light. He couldn’t match up with the other bigger receivers. Now it looks like he’s stronger and playing more physical.

“He’s making it happen. He’s a taskmaster for himself. He’s always one of the first guys out there working on his backpedal and he plant and drive. As a corner, you can’t think about your technique. He’s getting the fundamentals down so he can just play.”

Alley

Alley

Alley’s emergence will be a key in building cornerback depth for the Bobcat. Last season, MSU had Deonte Flowers, a first-team All-Big Sky senior. But the ‘Cats lacked anything else. During conference play, MSU almost never rotated and the results were detrimental. MSU finished near the bottom of the FCS by giving up 298 passing yards per game. Big Sky teams threw for 302 yards per outing against MSU.

In an effort to revive MSU’s strong defensive tradition, Ash rearranged his staff. Rider is now the cornerbacks coach, former defensive coordinator Jamie Marshall is working primarily with the safeties and 2012 Big Sky Defensive MVP Jody Owens is back to coach linebackers. He’s helping Kane Ioane, the newly minted defensive coordinator who’s revamped the unit in both strategy and attitude.

“The coaches, especially Ioane over the summer, looked at what they would’ve done differently and they came to this type of defense they want to run now,” Keeton said. “We just erase the outside, disrupt the timing on the outside and have everyone work together as a unit more with the safeties, and the linebackers.

“As far as what we do, it’s a good changeup for what the quarterbacks have to look at. We erase the No. 1 threat,” Keeton said. “We want to get hands on them, be physical with them and disrupt timing. When we do that and the quarterback looks at his other receivers on the inside, we mix up the coverages. It’s really something that will mess up the quarterbacks.”

A season ago, Keeton was a primary target of opposing offenses as he played across from Flowers, who also earned second-team All-Big Sky accolades in 2013. Keeton, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound former Nevada transfer, led the Big Sky with 14 pass breakups. But it’s almost certain he gave up more receptions than any cornerback in the Big Sky. Against Sacramento State, he notched 13 tackles and four pass breakups. The Hornets frequently threw away from Flowers to Keeton’s side as DeAndre Carter and Nnamdi Agude totaled 17 receptions, 381 yards and five touchdowns. This season, Keeton’s third as a Division I starter and final as a college football player, Ash has high expectations for his lone returning defensive starter outside of captain defensive tackle Taylor Sheridan.

Keeton

Keeton

“Bryson has to be a shutdown corner for us,” Ash said. “He has to be a guy who controls his area and talks people out of throwing over there, makes them go somewhere else where we can scheme people some. We have to be able to have one guy there who can maybe take the best receiver for the other team that will have a respectable chance to shut that guy down.”

Last season, Keeton’s stats read like an All-Big Sky player. But he received no such honors. Keeton recorded 77 total tackles, 58 solos and four tackles for loss. He intercepted a pass and broke up 14 more. But MSU gave up 28 passing touchdowns and went 8-5 despite averaging almost 40 points per game.

Keeton can rattle off his stats and he knows to associate the word productive when talking about his stats. Unabashed confidence is a key to cornerback success. Keeton doesn’t lack it.

“I want to have another productive year but even more productive than last year,” Keeton said. “I just want to contribute in every way and run to the ball and get more double digit tackle games like last year and just try to be really versatile and do everything.”

Flowers built a reputation as a veteran shutdown corner. He broke into the starting lineup as a true freshman on a 2011 Bobcat defense that ranked as the Big Sky’s best. He was a second-team all-league pick as a junior and arguably the most respected corner in the league as a senior.

Keeton has no such luck. Despite his lofty stats, he earned all-league recognition of no kind last season. To fulfill his potential, he’ll have to become one of the Big Sky’s best players during his final season.

“I’m just trying to keep him hungry and get him to fully understand that he is going to get tested and that he has the ability to be an all-conference corner,” Rider said. “There’s no question.. His technique is great but I have to get him to finish. I have to get him to get the ball on the ground. That’s my emphasis with these guys, especially with Keeton. Being there isn’t enough. We have to find a way to get the ball on the ground or take it away. If he can do that, he can be great.”

Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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